Short chain amino alcohols are used commercially in a wide variety of applications because of their anti-corrosion, neutralization and pH adjustment and maintenance properties. One such application is in metalworking fluids.
Metalworking fluids (“MWFs”) are used throughout the manufacturing industry for their coolant, lubricant, and corrosion resistant properties during operations such as metal cutting, grinding, boring, drilling, and turning. These fluids are made of mixtures of oils, detergents, surfactants, lubricants, anti-corrosion agents, water and other ingredients, and usually contain amino alcohols for maintaining alkaline pH and for neutralizing acid functional components in the MWFs.
Companies producing and using water-miscible MWFs want them to last a long time in order to minimize operating and waste disposal costs as well as loss of production time. Water-miscible MWFs containing amino alcohols as corrosion inhibitors are degraded over time by processes such as microbial degradation. Microbial growth is often directly related to fluid performance because microbes feed on the active ingredients in the fluid.
An industry need exists for amino alcohol components which do not support microbial growth and which maintain performance over a long time period. A need also exists for amino alcohols which, although not biocidal themselves, enhance the performance of a wide range of biocides used in water-based MWFs. While secondary amines are in common use, primary amines that fulfill the above purposes would be desirable because of regulatory restrictions on use of secondary amines in certain parts of the world.
The present invention addresses the above-described needs.